An entrenched Egyptian force under the command of Ahmed ʻUrabi was defeated by a British army led by Garnet Wolseley, in a sudden assault preceded by a march under cover of darkness.

[8] As a result of the riots, an ultimatum was sent to the Egyptian government demanding they order Urabi's officers in Alexandria to dismantle their coastal defence batteries.

Meanwhile, tension increased between Britain and France over the crisis, as most of the losses had been non-French, the principal European beneficiaries of the revolution would be the French.

When the ultimatum was ignored, Admiral Seymour gave the order for the Royal Navy to bombard the Egyptian gun emplacements at Alexandria.

Lieutenant General Garnet Wolseley was placed in charge of a large force with the aim of destroying Urabi's regime and restoring the nominal authority of the Khedive Tawfiq.

When the cavalry arrived, the British went onto the offensive and causing heavy casualties on the Egyptians, forced them to retreat 5 miles (8.0 km).

[11]: 68 At around the same time as the first battle at Kassassin, the British scored a major success with the capture of the Egyptian chief military engineer, General Mahmoud Fehmy.

[12] The exact circumstances of his capture are unclear - according to one account, he had changed into civilian clothes due to the heat, and had gone for a walk accompanied by only one other officer when he was ambushed by a group of British cavalrymen.

[13] The loss of Fehmy was "a blow to the defence of Tel-el-Kebir for which there was no remedy", for the highly-regarded General had only recently arrived to oversee the construction of fortifications at the site.

Rather than make an outflanking movement around Urabi's entrenchments, which would involve a long march through waterless desert, or undertake formal bombardment and assault, Wolseley planned to approach the position by night and attack frontally at dawn, hoping to achieve surprise.

The approach march of the main forces was made easier because the desert west of Kassassin was almost flat and unobstructed, making it look like a gigantic parade ground.

Even though there were repeated halts to maintain dressing and alignment, the British troops reached the Egyptian position at the time Wolseley intended.

Several groups stood and fought, mainly the Sudanese troops in the front of the Highland Brigade, but those not overwhelmed in the first rush were forced to retreat.